Che Guevera–Hit Man of the Bourgeois

Hollywood types love a revolutionary. Especially the kind that looks like the classic hippie; beard, long hair, a habit of smoking his breakfast. Even better, a revolutionary that hates capitalism. Che Guevera fits the bill perfectly. Here’s Che: “Let us sum up our hopes for victory: total destruction of imperialism by eliminating its firmest bulwark, the oppression exercised by the United States of America.”

I’ve made a point in my mind to never buy any product or see any movie involving an actor or author whom I see wearing a Guevera T-Shirt or jewelry, and if I hear any pro-Guevera speil spilling from the blubbering lips of some pseudo-intellectual, be sure that I’ll call him on it. That means no Johnny Depp movies. Depp’s one more under-educated, overrated malcontent who’s prone to wearing Guevera jewelry and bandannas. Capitalists living off the fat of the land, telling others they should follow the lead of Marxist saboteurs. Go away Johnny; you’re a loser.

Here’s a quote from Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great. The sickness that has infected his mind is obvious: ‘His death meant a lot to me, and countless like me, at the time. He was a role model, albeit an impossible one for us bourgeois romantics insofar as he went and did what revolutionaries were meant to do – fought and died for his beliefs.’

Sure Mr. Hitchens, it’s all so good in Cuba; every thing’s just fine. Please move there. Please. You’ll make about five bucks a day, but oh, the euphoria you’ll experience for shoving it up the collective rears of Imperialist America!

Here’s the real Che:

1) Executed thousands of political prisoners who opposed Castro’s rule. Many of them never got a trial.

2)Enjoyed torturing prisoners, children included.

3)Labeled himself “Stalin II” early in his career.

4) Backed a regime that has imprisoned approximately 350,000 people for political dissent.

In the 20th century, communism is directly responsible for the deaths of 100 million people. Any idiot that thinks it was or is a noble endeavor deserves to experience its atrocities. What irks me the most, is that it’s not the poor that speak so highly of Marxism or even its neutered cousin, democratic-socialism, it’s the rich! They can have money–but not you.

Guevera was a terrible military commander. Like many zealous martinets, his legacy only survives because of the ardency of his beliefs and the unyielding force in which he wrote of them and carried them to fruition.

In the end, Che Guevera showed himself a coward. Before his capture at the hands of Bolivian Special Forces sent to capture or kill him, Che is reported to have yelled, “Do not shoot! I am Che Guevara and worth more to you alive than dead.”

The Bolivians sent this so-called hero to the resting place of all who lack a proper respect for liberty: To a thug’s grave.

Book Review: Sick Puppy

This is the second book of Hiaasen’s that I’ve read, the first being Basket Case. Hiaasen’s uncanny satirical insight carries his novels, and Sick Puppy had me laughing out loud on almost every page.

There are no good guys here. The protagonist, Twilly Spree, is a soft-core eco-terrorist, maintaining himself on a trust-fund and a simmering hatred of all things litter. Eventually, Spree happens upon one Palmer Stoat, big-deal broker and unabashed trash-chucker extraordinaire. Spree eventually follows Stoat to Stoat’s home and kidnaps Stoat’s Black Lab, holding him hostage until Stoat agrees to back out on a land development deal that’s killed off all the poor toads on the island.

Eventually, Stoat’s wife, never too enthralled with her shallow husband to begin with, falls for Twilly Spree, and off they go.

The comedy of this book cannot be overstated. Hiaasen sees people’s dumb habits, picks up on the everyday quirks and magnifies them to stupendous effect. There’s a land developer with a lustful passion for Barbie Dolls. Another developer with a deep hatred for nature, in particular squirrels; the resentment having taken root in an attack on his scrotum by an angry chipmunk. And of course how could we do without prostitutes that only service Republicans and vicious hit-men that collect 911 recordings of people’s dying breaths?

While comedy can carry one through boring stories and Hiaasen’s command of language and human psychology is undeniable, his politics shine through a little too brightly for me. The book began to seem like propaganda. He takes his shots at Ronald Reagan, Republicans, cigar smokers (I assume it’s an oblique swipe at Rush Limbaugh), and the police. He seems to justify eco-terror at times too. While it’s best not to read too much into a novelist’s personality by the books that he writes, since Hiassen’s a journalist in Florida, I’m assuming that he’s depicting many of his own views on the environment.

Also, since the book is very satirical, I found myself not caring who lived or died and also not caring if the characters got what they wanted; I was reading for the next joke.

My final complaint: the book is too long; 513 pages. Really, it should have been about 300.

I think that others may enjoy this book more than I, since my political views are at odds with Hiaasen’s. He is a great writer, I cannot deny that. However, if I’m going to read this many pages, I need a plot that serves a bit of tension; I never experienced any with this book.

3 1/2 out of five stars.

Next Week: Niall Ferguson’s, Colossus.

More proof the surge is working in Iraq:

“[T]he Project for Excellence in Journalism… [found that] 15% of stories across print, broadcast, and online dealt with Iraq-related issues. That is down from 22% during the first quarter of the year.” In the second quarter, “Fox News Channel devoted roughly half as much coverage to the war (8%) than its rivals, CNN (18%) and MSNBC (15%).”

I’m shocked! Appalled! And all along I thought the media was unbiased.
Also, this morning I was thinking; ever since I published my article on this blog (here:http://neoconessay.blogspot.com/2007/08/rise-and-fall-of-gorian-empire.html)concerning Steve McIntyre’s discovery that NASA’s temperature estimates for the last century were all wrong, I have not seen one article on my Yahoo News page. Another surprise. If anyone has found one, send a link to it if you would.

As I said before, Gore and the media are going to try to sneak out the back door on this one. They aren’t talking about global-warming at all. Usually the subject is one of the top stories on my news browser. For the last couple of weeks: Nothing.

Why does the truth bother them so? Because it’s very difficult to change one part of your ethos without changing all of it. And none of us wants to be wrong about everything in life.

Jesus vs. Nietzsche

Rational egoism states that acting in one’s self-interest is the intelligent thing to do. Is this at odds with Jesus’ statement: “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”?

No.

It is wise to first strengthen yourself, before you endeavor to help others. Actually, only when you have sufficiently strengthened yourself can you make a positive difference in other’s lives. Would you go into battle without your weapons, just because you like a challenge? When you are weak, when you haven’t taken care of your own business, you are a burden to others; a decidedly unchristian thing to be. Some Christians may think that because some very famous atheists espoused egoism (Ayn Rand, Nietzsche), that it is wrong thinking. Not so.

Jesus also said, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but cannot perceive the board in your own?” In other words: Take care of yourself first. And, to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus was a first-class egoist: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The assumption was that people loved themselves and Jesus uses that fact to make his point clear.

How can I help the poor, when I myself am poor? How can I strengthen the weak, when I myself lack strength?

That brings me to capitalism. Atheists love to quote the bible just as much as believers do, but the reciting usually takes the form of a psychological crowbar; an attempt to force the Christian to see things the leftist way. So you may hear this in an argument concerning the morality of America’s capitalism (accompanied by a wry smile), “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” The liberal will wring his hands with glee; he knows he’s got you now. Of course he’s doing what god-haters have practiced for a millennium: Leaving out half the story. It continues like this:”And they (the apostles) were even more astonished and said to Him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked upon the disciples and said, ‘With man it is impossible; but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

Indeed.

Stop using the "F-word"

Dictionary.com defines fascism as follows:

fas·cism[fash-iz-uhm]
–noun 1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.
3. (initial capital letter) a fascist movement, esp. the one established by
Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.

You’ve probably heard the F-word used if you’ve ever debated a liberal. Of course, they liken the actions of our government, particularly if a Republican president holds office, to that of fascist regimes. It is typical of the sky-is-falling mentality they have; a pernicious desire for conflict and drama. Hyperbolic garbage meant only to inflame, dragging the word’s user and his audience onto an Orwellian stage where he can, for a moment, become a revolutionary.

Let’s at once have a writing lesson. Our instructor: C.S. Lewis of Narnia fame.
Lewis stated that a writer should keep in mind never to use the word “Gigantic” when he really meant “Big,” because, when later in the story, he creates something that really is gigantic, he’ll have no word for it.

That’s what the malcontents are doing by use such language. Not only are they feeding America’s great cancer–self-deprecating cynicism–they are dishonoring those in history who actually suffered under fascism’s boot.

I should point out that the tiresome use of this word is part of the canned-rebellion
so fashionable amongst younger people. They pierce their body-parts, scrape ridiculous looking graffiti across their only true possession–their bodies–and wear their Che Guevara T-Shirts to assure onlookers of their rebellious nature. Yes, they’re different–just like everyone else. They like safety in numbers, especially in blogs and forums. It’s not uncommon for several undergrads to joyously proclaim their hatred for Bush in a unison reminiscent of religious mantra. Newcomers wanting to join the herd chant the tired old lines when they really just want to belong.

So I’ll keep going, allies or no. My thoughts won’t be tainted by culture, or group-think. And whether I’m sleeping on a park-bench or in a mansion, I’ll keep thinking for myself, welcoming those who agree, making uncomfortable those who don’t.

“To make the individual uncomfortable, that is my task.”~Frederick Nietzsche.

General Petraeus: Ambitious–and really, really good.

Democrats are afraid of General David Petraeus–because he’s succeeding. And success in Iraq equals a death-knell, for their chances in 2008. Fail, please General, tell us how bad things are, how it’s all collapsed around our imperialist ears. Please tell us the bad stuff, so the American people will know how horrible everything America stands for is. If you can throw in a couple reports of prisoner abuse, just to spice things up, we’d really appreciate it.

Sorry, Defeat-Mongers. You know what he’s going to say. So now you’ve turned to media-spin to sour American opinion and to water the fast-growing plant that’s cast it’s shade on all of America: Cynicism about itself. A recent CNN poll showed that 53% of American’s believe that Petraeus’ report to Congress in September will attempt to show things in a better light then they really are. Democrat think-tankers are also calling Petraeus ambitious. Good. No, great. I like ambitious. I want someone that gets aggressive, just as long as he doesn’t fall prey to political correctness. Tell the President and Congress the truth: That destroying utterly a culture that wants to annihilate your civilization is what works, that clashes between cultures of opposite ideologies happened all through history with the weaker culture ceasing to exist. I know you have it in you General. You know military history as well as anyone, you have two PHDs. You are a warrior, not a demogogue or politician.

While you’re there, General, remind Americans (whom despite easy access to knowledge, are the worst of historians)that this is one of the easiest, least destructive wars ever fought. I’ll give you some stats to take with you.

Here is a list of ten wars fought by the US, from most to least total American deaths.

1)American Civil War: 625,000

2)WW II: 405,399

3)WWI: 116,516

4)Vietnam War: 58,151

5)Korean War: 36,516 (In only three years)

6)American Revolutionary War: 25,000

7)War of 1812: 20,000

8)Mexican War: 13,282

9)Philippene War: 4,196

10) Iraq War: 3,973

Historical context is what Democrats hate.

Why I’ll Never Be A Cop Again.

So, at the risk of receiving hate-mail from all of my Chronic-addicted subscribers, I’m coming out of the closet. It’s time that all of the haters know that I was a police officer for eight years in the socialist utopia known as Bangor Maine. While patrolling the streets of said Shangri-La, I saw things that changed me forever—almost all of them bad. Still, I’m glad that I saw them because these things gave me a perspective that I could never have gained in a classroom. Theory got steamrolled by reality.
Many parts of the job were stressful, frustrating and demanding. Nothing disappointed me more then the feeling of alienation, the bare hatred directed at police officers and the jokes that complete strangers felt free to make me the butt of. At the end, my will to do the whole thing lay broken. I was enforcing laws for people that didn’t want me to, unless of course they happened to be a victim; then there was a shrill demand for satisfaction.
Things got so bad that I would go into restaurants and overhear conversations that involved expletives and police officers that I knew. Usually, I walked out. The usual stories that I’d heard a million times: “The cop pulled me over, and I wasn’t even drunk!” or “The cops don’t do anything, they just ride around; you’re tax dollars at work.” I’d ponder how I’d managed to do nothing while at times working 16 hour shifts and 50, 60, sometimes 70 hours a week.
When I try to explain how often this occurs and the debilitating effect it can have on police officers, I’m usually met with blank stares. I’m always met with the question: “How did you like that job?” My answer: “I didn’t.” Again, a look of disappointment.
The reality of it all didn’t seem to sink in with many friends until they happened to be around a few times when the phenomena occurred. Now that I’m done with it, I never freely volunteer what I did for a living. As Jesus said: “Cast not your pearls before swine.”
It continues though, even after almost a year of being done. Examples:
Two weeks ago, I went out to dinner with a long-time friend and three of his associates/friends. I’d never met these people before. One of his friends asked me what I did for a living, and I told her that I used to be a police officer. She of course asked why I’d left the job, and I retorted that it was too negative. She agreed with me and I give her credit for not launching into a bad-cop story. The other female however, couldn’t help herself. “Most cops I’ve encountered were complete assholes,” she said. I looked at her and said, “I want a job where people don’t talk about me like that.” I had only met this lady that day. I wanted to ask her on how many occasions she had encountered the police, seeing how she could not have been more than 25 years old.
Then, yesterday, while I was getting my haircut, the stylist asks me what I had done for a living in Maine. I told her and then explained that I was attempting to starve myself to death as a writer and seemed to have been more successful at the starving part then in any endeavor I’d before embarked on.

Stylist: Why’d you leave the Po-Po?

Me: Because, like you, nobody likes them.

Stylist: Oh no. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve met some great police officers, but I’ve also met some that I’d like to shoot with their own gun. (Yes, she really said that, while laughing.)

Me: (Eying the set of gleaming shears that slashed the locks away from my neck.) Umm, yea.

Stylist: So, do you have a girlfriend?

Me: (Nervously regarding my sub-clavicular notch for laceration.) I’ve dated some.

So that’s why, despite my recent pondering of doing the whole damn thing again, I won’t be part of the Thin Blue Line. You can never go back.

How will I know when I’ve made it?

I’ve narrowed down all of the possible ways in which I will know, beyond all doubt that I’ve “made it.” Yes, I will have joined the ranks of brilliant writers and super-bloggers world-wide, be followed by throngs of adoring fans all lauding my latest masterpiece or liberal-shredding post. Perhaps I’ll even get a few photos of scantily clad women, detailing how they’ll unwind my tightly-wrapped right-wing self(conservative women who can cook, of course).

However not fans, a throne amongst the elite, nor naked ladies( don’t be afraid to send pictures though), will convince me that my place in history is secure. Actually there are two things that I’m looking for, one more preferable than the other.

The first thing that could do the convincing is that a Fatwa could be issued, imploring jihadists the world over to rid the land of me–a blasphemer. I would join the ranks of Jerry Falwell–a good man in his day–and Salman Rushdie–an excellent writer. Fallwell’s statement that he believed Muhammad was a terrorist and a man of war, promted the death-threats and his views fall right into line with my own. Actually, I see no reason for Al-Queda and their ilk to take offense at this since terrorism is their prime weapon and without it and the media to beam terror’s results around the globe, where would the fundamentalists be?

Fatwa is far down on the list of two possibilies though–a distant second because it could result in my early demise via car bomb, drive-by-shooting, decapitation with a hand saw or some other medieval treatment that the terrorists carry around in their bag of tricks. In that event, I would not be able to enjoy my newly birthed fame. That would irritate me. The slight upside would be that even liberals would be forced to admit my success at winning hearts and minds. They do have a tendancy to shed tears of nostalgia upon arch-foes’ deaths, such as they did with Falwell and Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.

The second occurance would be that John Stewart of The Daily Show asks me to guest on his show so we can debate. John Stewart is a left-wing extremist posing as a funny-guy and spending virtually all of the time on his 30 min. show ripping Bush and the war in Iraq. The other day Stewart actually debated someone; I was shocked. William Kristol, the neoconservative comentator was the guest. Kristol is smart–too smart for Stewart to be sure. As Kristol explained the progress being made in Iraq and the positive remarks made by soldiers, Stewart refused to see his ethos of losing is losing. I have no respect for Stewart: NONE. So Mr. Stewart, if you read this or if anyone knowing or having contact with him reads this, please know that I want to be on your awesomely written show. To be sure, you will do to me what you did to Kristol. That is, prevent me from finishing a single sentence. We could help one another really. Your show would greatly benefit from my churlish brilliance and I would get my wonderful face sprinkled over the airwaves, causing millions of your lib fans to do what they hate the most: Think.

History will get it right.

I listened to Karl Rove speaking on the Rush Limbaugh show yesterday. I know Rove was good at what he did, because he was so hated by the libs. It’s great to be good.
Rove said some interesting things. Limbaugh asked him why the president never responded to the personal attacks by leftist weirdos. You know, that he’s dumb, trying to destroy our liberties, incompetent. Rove said that the president knows it’s not the way to go about things, that responding to garbage with garbage will only bring him down to their level and he also said one other thing: “History will get it right, and you and I will be dead then anyway.” I love that answer. That’s an answer that Bill Clinton would never have given. His legacy was too important and by making his legacy the most important issue, he actually destroyed what future historians will think of him. The first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Rove also said that Bush is one of the most well-read people he’s ever met. Last year Bush and Rove had a reading contest to see who could read the most books in 2007. Rove beat Bush 110 to 94. Bush joked that as leader of the free world, he was at a decided disadvantage.

So here’s your dumb president’s resume: Graduated from Yale with degree in history. Graduated from Harvard with a degree in business. Fighter pilot. Governor of Texas. Name one other person that’s graduated from either of those schools that flew fighter-jets. Anyone you know personally? Some say he’s a bad speaker. Nope. You’re wrong. People don’t like him, so they don’t like what he says. Sonorous speeches won’t change that. Bush gave a speech to the US Congress right after 911. It was called possibly the greatest speech ever given by a president. I specifically remember that. I listened to it, and I have never heard a more solemn speech, even by Roosevelt or JFK. If you don’t remember it, you should, so here’s the transcript.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/

In honor of our president’s practice of reading a lot, I’ve decided to read one book a week and have a review day on this blog. Currently, I’m reading, “Sick Puppy”, by Karl Hiaasen. I’ll review it on Sunday.

Have a great day.

Why I’m writing this blog

I am an unabashed propagandist for America’s military, the war in Iraq, and America itself. As a writer, the only option for me is to tell the truth as I see it, and to avoid any pandering. And the only measure of my success as a writer, is if those who read it come to understand the enormity of our situation. It is no less then the imminent fall of the West. If this way of thinking was good enough for George Orwell, the greatest essayist of the 20th century, it’s good enough for me.

America is falling–from within. No power on this earth can defeat us if we can only regain our optimism, remember our great heritage, and raise our children to love what was founded in our land not much more than 200 years ago. Europe may be a lost cause at this point. They wallow in cynical fatalism and are weak to the point of disgrace. We are not lost–not yet. Its spirit pale, its wit dull, continental Europe is decades away from entering a dark age. Watch and see. The rising power of China the new Russian threat will loom. They both smell Europe’s indifference and lack of strength. Only a strong America keeps Europe safe, even now.

Until I see some other countries getting things done as well as we do, I will remain a partisan. I will not back down to the leftist media–ever. They are defeatist, ridiculously cynical and intentionally ignorant of historical context. Most of all they savor too much the next scandal; and nothing is more scandalous then American defeat abroad. They don’t want victory–which is always possible. No, victory would call into question their very ethos: The weak shall inherit the earth.